Aboard many yachts a steering station, i.e. the pilot house area, is provided in a cabin also utilized underway and when docked or anchored as a lounge. When underway, the helmsman, captain, or skipper, needs an unobstructed forward view, necessitating on many yachts the need for an elevated chair. Such an elevated chair on some yachts is permanently mounted at the raised elevation. On other yachts, generally with less cabin space, an empty helmsman chair is manually preset alternately at either the elevated underway position, or at the lower docked or anchored position, by the skipper before he sits down. Many types of these two position helmsman, captain, or skippers' chairs are available now and have been used in the past. However, no helmsman chairs are known by the applicant to be available, on which a helmsman, skipper, or captain, while remaining seated, may operate controls to move himself or herself from a lounge level directable position to and back down from one or more underway elevated positions.
In respect to shipboard and/or yacht mounting of equipment, such as tables, automatic leveling mechanisms have been provided as early as 1924, as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 1,490,904, wherein Clark Anders disclosed how to keep such equipment level, notwithstanding the tilting or pitching of the ship. However, apparently no person was concerned with the changing of elevation of a helmsman chair by a skipper, who could operate nearby controls, while remaining seated in the chair, and also controlling his or her directional position.
For other purposes, not aboard a boat, yacht or ship, others have provided seating which could be located at respective elevations. Frank W. Adsit, used screw jack mechanisms to raise and lower an opera chair as set forth in his U.S. Pat. No. 1,282,164, issued in 1918. To meet the respective sizes of persons, Fred Gorden in 1952 provided his chair as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,239 using a powered screw jack mechanism. For barber and beauty shops Howard F. Newman in 1961, in his U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,280, disclosed an adjustable height chair also using a power screw jack mechanism to raise and lower the person having his or her hair groomed by a barber and/or hair dresser. A hydraulically adjustable height seat for vehicles is disclosed in Edward M. Greer's U.S. Pat. No. 3,436,048 issued in 1969. A hydraulic lift device with a seat attachment is set forth in John E. Nolan's U.S. Pat. No. 3,256,036 of 1966. Also many other adjustable seating assemblies are indicated by Dean H. Hale's utility stool illustrated in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,946, issued in 1964.
Although many earlier inventors were concerned with adjustable seating and elevation changing mechanisms and marine leveling mechanisms, there remained a need for a more versatile helmsman chair for a yacht. Especially, for such a chair which could be positioned for both underway and docked or anchored use by a helmsman, captain, or skipper, who while so seated, could raise and lower the helmsman chair, using convenient controls, and also change the direction of his or her facing while so seated.